Container



May 29, 1951 F. D. JONES ETAL 2,554,531

CONTAINER Filed Dec. 22, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ED. JONES TO. WEUNDT, L RETT, & e. HILL F. D. JONES ET AL May 29, 1951 CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22, 1945 S a :L Y W E N I m WE m mw H 0 8 .T Sm Mm we n F..L

Patented May 29, 1951 CONTAINER Frank D. Jones, Tage 0. Welindt, Loyal Clayton Garrett, and George B. Hill, Ottumwa, Iowa, assignors to Deere Manufacturing 00., a corporation of Iowa Application December 22,1945, Serial No. 636,890

7 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to containers and more particularly to containers for dispensing wire, twine, or the like from one or more coils disposed within the container, and has for its principal object the provision of a novel and improved container which is simpler in construction, lighter in weight, and therefore less expensive to manufacture than similar containers heretofore known to those skilled in the art.

Although the container which is the subject matter of the present invention may be found to have a wide variety of uses, it is particularly designed and adapted for use in crop baling machines for holding the coils of wire, twine, or other tying material and dispensing the same as it is used in the baling machine. In the conventional automatic wire tying baling press, the baled crops are tied by means of a pair of wires which must be fed from a pair of coils so arranged and supported that the wires will feed smoothly from the coils to the tying mechanism, without kinking or snagging, and therefore it is a more specific object of our invention to provide a container for the pair of wire coils which will support the latter for this purpose.

Still another object of our invention relates to the provision of a container for the coils of wire, which is so arranged that the coils are clearly visible at all times, so that the operator of the baling press can readily determine at a glance when the supply of wire needs replenishing.

A further object has to do with the provision for easily detachable mounting means for the container for securing the latter in a convenient location, such as on top of the baling chamber.

Another object relates to the provision of a container comprising at least two compartments for holding the wire, which are arranged as compactly as possible in order to hold a maximum quantity of wire or other material but without obstructing the openings through which the wire is drawn, and at the same time providing for visibility of the interior of both compartments.

Still another object relates to the provision of a container comprising a pair of overlapping staggered compartments having open ends and formed from a single sheet metal blank.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference is had to the drawings appended hereto, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of acontainer embodying the principles of our invention with one of the end gates or retainers removed;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the container;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the sheet metal blank from which the container is made, drawn to a reduced scale.

Referring now to the drawings, the container is indicated in its entirety by reference numeral 5 and comprises a pair of staggered overlapping compartments 6, l. The container 5 is composed of a unitary common dividing wall 8 with the two compartments 6, I positioned on relatively opposite sides of the wall 8, respectively.

Thus, the compartment 6 includes the common wall 8, which is normally disposed in a vertical position, an outer vertical wall 9 parallel to the common wall 8 and spaced therefrom, and a pair of horizontally disposed top and bottom walls In, II interconnecting the corresponding top and bottom edges of the walls 8, 9, respectively.

Similarly, the other compartment 1 is defined by the common wall 8 and by a third vertical Wall l5 spaced in parallel relation thereto on the opposite side of the wall 8 from the outer wall 9. A top wall l6 interconnects the upper edges of the parallel walls 8 and I5 while a bottom wall I! interconnects the lower edges of the same walls.

The container is fabricated from a single sheet metal blank, the central portion of which comprises the common dividing wall 8, as shown in Figure 4, with the upper, outer, and bottom walls Ill, 9, ll formed as an extension of the common wall 8 along the upper edge thereof. The other compartment 1, comprising the lower, outer, and upper walls l1, l5, I6, is formed from an extension of the lower edge of the common dividing wall 8. 'It will be noted that the extension which forms the compartment 6 has its shorter dimension somewhat greater than half the longer dimension of the common wall 8 along the upper edge thereof from one end of the latter, while the extension forming the compartment 1 extends along the lower edge of the common wall from the opposite end thereof a distance appreciably greater than one half the longer dimension of the wall 8, with the result that when the two extensions are folded to define the two compartments 6, l, the latter overlap each other on opposite sides of the dividing wall 8.

The outer end of the extension forming one compartment 6 is provided with a tongue 20, which turns upwardly along the dividing wall 8 at the lower edge thereof. The tongue 20 has any other suitable means known to those skilled I in the art.

Similarly, the outer end of the other extension which forms the compartment is provided with a tongue 2!, which is turned 'aownwardi aidng the upper edges of the dividing wa1l8, and this tongue is also so dimensioned with respect "to the walls I1, I5, IS, in order to avoid interference with the upper wall I of the"overlappingc6rnpartment 6, and is also suitably secured, as by welding, to the dividing wall 8.

Thus, by bending the blank along the dotted lines shown in Figure 4, the container, cen'iprising apair of staggered overlapping "compartments 6, l, is formed, with each of the compartments having open ends. Each of the 'inner overlapped ends of the compartments 3,1-is'provided with a narrow retaining strap 22, .23, which retain the coils of Wire within the compart'rnents 6, 1, without interferingwith'the operators wiew of the interior of the compartments. Each of the retaining straps 2'2, 23 is provided with a pair of flanges 24-, disposed at op'positeends of the strap, for securin the latter to the two parallel vertical walls of each compartment, the flange 24 being secured to' the walls 8, Sand [5, respectively, by any suitable means, such as by welding.

The opposite outer ends of the compartments 6, 1 are provided with a pair of readily removable gate members25, 26, respectively, each of the gate members being provided with inwardly turned flanges?!- al-ong the vertical edges of the gate. The flanges 21 of each ofthe -gates -25,

'26'areapertured to receive a U-shaped securing member 30, which can be inserted through the apertures in the flanges 21 and through aligned openings 3l, 32 in the vertical walls 8, 9, l of the compartments. Cotter pins 33 or otl'iersuit- "able meansare provided for securing the'e'n'ds of the U-shaped members 30' toprevent the latter from'sliding 'out'of place. It will be noted that the vertical dimension of the gates-25, 26 is less than the height of the container, to provide the operator with a view of the inside'of the compartments so that he may determine when it is necessary to replenish the coils of wire therein. a v

A support, indicated at 35, is provided for the container 5, and is preferably the top of the bale case of the press, the latter being provided with a pair of upstanding ears or lugs 36, which are disposed in substantial alignment and have axially aligned apertures 37 therethrough to receive a securing rod 38, which can be inserted through holes 39, disposed in the three vertical the apertures 31 in-the lugs 36. Therod 38 extends beyond each of the outer walls 9, l5 and is secured in place by a pair of cotterlpins 40, which are inserted through suitable 'holes extending transversely through the "end' of the rod38. I

The ears or lugs 36- are rigidly secured tothe support 35' and extend upwardly therefrom, the

lower walls ll, of the compartments-3, I, re-

spectively, being notched outwardly, as indicated compartment wa1ls 8, 9, [5 in alignment with 4 at 4|, from the inner edges thereof, through which notches are inserted the lugs 36. The apertures 39 are positioned to dispose the rod 38 along the center line of the container, in order that the latter is reversible on the support 35.

a Each of the compartments 6, I is provided with a pair of aligned wire dispensing openings 43 centrally'disposed in the vertical walls of each compartment. Each of the openings G3 is formed by pressing the metal outwardly from the comspartment, thereby providing a dispensing nozzle with curved edges for permitting the wire from the coil to be drawn outwardly therethrough without damage to the wire. By providing an "opening in each'of the vertical walls of each of the'cofripartiniitsfthe container is reversible, although'o'nly' one of'the openings is ordinarily used at a time in each compartment.

In operation, the coils of wire can be placed in the compartments before the container is secured :to' itssupport, although it'is necessary to remove t he 'gates 25, 26 before'the coils can be "deposited therein. The gates'25, 26 are then replaced and secured by inserting the retainers 38 through the aligned apertures, after which the container is place d' upon the support 35 with the ears or lugs 33 extending upwardly through the notches 4! in th'e'lowerwalls ll, H. The rod 38 is then in- 'serted throughthe holes 39 and apertures 3'7, andretained in place by the cotter pins 40. The inner end of each coil of wire is then threaded through its respective opening 43 and the wire is drawn through the latter as it is used. By virtue "o'f th'e open-ended compartments 6, I, the operator can readily determine at a glance when it is necessaryto insert a ne'wcoil of wire in either compartment, thelatter'being accessible by removing the U-shaped retainer 30 and gate 25 or 26 of either compartment.

The advantageobtained by staggering the two compartments is that either compartment can be easily visible'ifrom either end thereof and the two strands of wire can'be pulled out through the two dispensing holes" 53 in one sideof the container. The two compartments 6, l overlap, thus obtaining ample space for large coils of wire, but th e -amount of overlapis not enough to interfere with'the dispensing of wire through either of the openings.

We' claim:

a 1. In combination, a container comprising a plurality of staggered overlappingcompartments, a support for said container, an upstanding lug on fsaidssupport, and means for mounting said container on said support including a, tie rod, the 'walls'of said compartments in the overlapped portion thereof having registering apertures for re- "ceiving'said tie"rod,'and said container having a notch in a wall adjacentsaid tie rod for receiving said upstanding lug, the latterhaving an aperture therein adapted to receive said tierod when 'Ltheflatte'r is inserted through said registering wall apertures to secure said container to said support.

'2. A "container comprising a. plurality of stag- 'er'ed overlap in compartments, said container Tc'oirip'rising acne-piece blank defining acommon 'dividing wall havinga width less than the sum 'ofthe widths of the two'compartments and a pair of extensions extending from relatively opposite edges ofsaid commonwall, each of said exten sions having awidth equal to the width of one of said compartments, respectively, said I extensions defining the other" three walls :or "said com- ..partments on oppositesidesfrespectively, orsaid 3. A container comprising a pair of staggered overlapping compartments of substantially identical dimensions, said container comprising a onepicce blank defining a common dividing wall having a length less than twice the length of one compartment, said blank having a pair of extensions extending from relatively opposite edges of said common wall, each of said extensions defining the other three Walls of said compartments on opposite sides, respectively, of said common wall, the latter having a dispensing opening substantially in the center of one of said compartments.

4. A container comprising a plurality of walls providing a pair of compartments disposed in a side-by-side overlapping relationship, with one of the walls being common to both compartments; means providing a pair of dispensing openings in the common wall, one for each compartment, and means providing a second pair of dispensing openings respectively in other walls of the com partments, one such second opening leading into one compartment, and the other of such second openings leading into the other compartment.

5. A container comprising Walls providing a plurality of neighboring compartments arranged in side-by-side relationship so that each projects at one end beyond its neighbor, each having opposite open ends; means partially closing one end of each compartment, including an element normally fixedly positioned to extend crosswise of such end and of substantially less area than such end so that the interior of the container can be viewed from the outside; and removable means normally partially closing each of the other ends of the compartments, including an element of substantially less area than such end so that the interior of the container can be viewed from the outside.

6. A container adapted for mounting on a support or the like having an opening, comprising walls providing a plurality of staggered overlapping compartments, and means for mounting the container on such support or the like, said mounting means including registering apertures in the Walls of said compartments in the overlapped portion thereof and a tie rod inserted through said apertures and through said openmg.

7. A container adapted for mounting on a support or the like that includes a projecting element having an opening, comprising walls providing a plurality of staggered overlapping compartments, and means for mounting the container on such support or the like including registering apertures provided in walls of the container and adapted for alinement with the opening in the projecting element, a tie rod through said apertures and for engaging the opening in the supporting element, and a notch in one of the walls for receiving said 'element.

FRANK D. JONES.

TAGE O. WELINDT.

LOYAL CLAYTON GARRETT. GEORGE B. HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 105,355 Herz July 20, 1937 927,671 Nicholson July 13, 1909 1,104,529 Mendelson et a1. July 21, 1914 1,474,580 Clark et a1 Nov. 20, 1923 1,588,771 Richardson June 15, 1926 1,700,879 Boch Feb. 5, 1929 1,731,347 Milosewicz Oct. 15, 1929 1,836,593 Harvey Dec. 15, 1931 2,015,278 Meyer Sept. 24, 1935 2,096,319 Churchill -1 Oct. 19, 1937 2,122,588 Ruif July 5, 1938 2,169,708 OCallaghan Aug. 15, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 964 Great Britain Oct. 3, 1862 

